


Light of a Blue Flame

by Ihaveseentwoghosts



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: A spookier take on gravity falls, Blood, Dipper has powers that he didn’t know about ??? Au, Gen, Havnt forgotten about this fic. I’m just very sleepy and busy, Nightmares, No Romance, No Sexual Content, Platonic Relationships, Takes place after a tale of two stans, dipper isn’t allowed to say fuck, spooks and scares, there is no romantic relationships and no one is getting together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-12 23:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20572607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ihaveseentwoghosts/pseuds/Ihaveseentwoghosts
Summary: There was always more to Dipper Pines  than what could be seen. But one of his features most noticeable at a glance was the boy’s unwavering determination to find answers.Bill Cipher makes an offer that no one else could give. An answer to any one question; free of charge. But one question is hardly enough to ask a god who knows everything.





	1. A Twisted Dream

Meditation is not for the busy minded, though, it should be. For anyone whose mind is lined with gears that churn out unanswerable questions, meditation may help slow the production of such questions. At least, this is what Dipper Pines had believed when he made his short hike through the Gravity Falls Forest, however, after fifteen minutes of silence and no sign enlightenment he began to believe that meditation was only a waste of time and that his venture out into this clearing was nothing but a foolish waste of energy.

A frustrated cry escaped him as he hefted himself off the grassy forest floor, wiping away any spare twigs or leaves that clung to his dark colored shorts. "Great uncle Stanford has been here for over a week! I thought I would have all the answers by now; instead he just stows himself away in the basement leaving me with even more questions!" Dipper rants out loud to a lone squirrel that had made itself comfortable in a nearby tree and had yet to acknowledge the young man's rambling fit. 

Kicking a small stack of leaves, Dipper shoves his hands into his vest pockets and lowers his head. After inhaling a deep breath of pine scented air, he begins the walk home. Orange light pieces though the tree line as the sun sunk and the woods darkened to a deep blue shade. As he quickened his pace, He concluded that he must have been in the forest much longer than he had originally thought. 

He was not sure how long he had been walking, but what Dipper was sure of was that he should be out of the forest by now. Stopping in his tracks, he lifted his head to check his surroundings. Long trees unnaturally curved and began to coil around one another. Color and life had begun to drain from the forest. varieties of greens, browns, and yellows leaked down the branches to the trunk until the pigment reached the forest floor. Joining the color was small animal bones, bugs, and some unidentifiable traces of life that With slow calculated movements joined the ooze of color as it traveled to the walking path's center, forming a puddle of glimmering, slimy mulch that now rested dangerously close to Dipper's feet. 

Catching a glimpse of his own reflection in the puddle he stared in curiosity but was quickly shaken as the colors darkened as greens and browns mixed with animal blood and the liquid began to sizzle and boil. With a startled cry Dipper stumbled back until he had a good five feet between himself and the popping ooze.

"Hey Pinetree! Its been awhile!" Came a familiar voice from no direction in particular. "Well actually it's been around 1090800 seconds since I last spoke to you! Remember that? You shook my hand? I put forks in your fleshy limbs?" The voice centered itself over the puddle as the contents began to rise and dance in the air like ribbons flowing and intertwining, forming the 60 degree, three sided mind demon best known as Bill Cipher. 

"Bill!" Dipper yelled out, his tone dripping with anger, annoyance, and even a hint of fear. 

"Pinetree!" Bill mimicked, causing Dipper to yell out in frustration.

"Why are you here? I-I'm not shaking your hand again...i-if that's what you're here for."

"Woah, woah, calm down, kid. I'm not here for a deal...unless-no, never mind that, I'm not here for a deal," the god spoke, "I'm here to answer one of your questions, free of charge."

With a voice laced in suspicion Dipper responded, "Why?"

"Let's just call it an apology, kid. For the hardship I put your weak human body through last time we met," He explained, his inescapable gaze falling on the young boy, making him feel even smaller than he already did. Balancing fear and curiosity Dipper pondered the offer.

"Any question?"

"Any question. This is a once in ten thousand lifetimes opportunity, But you only get one so make it count!"

To have this many questions and an all knowing being offering to answer only one of them was torture, however, that may have been Bill's intention.

"I don't want to ask now...give me some time."

Bill's eye squinted in annoyance for a moment, watching Dipper closely. "I'll come back in two days. My offer expires then," he finally replied, his voice firm and leaving no room to argue.

With a flash of darkness and then light, Dipper woke to find himself still sitting in the forest clearing. Gold drops of sunlight peered though the gaps in the trees and the color had since returned to its place in the leaves and bark and the forest became alive once more with the songs of birds settling into their nests and small animals rummaging through the foliage. 

With quickened breathing Dipper pushed himself to his feet and did not take a second to pause as he began in the direction of the shack. Leaves and twigs crunched beneath his feet and his throat began to burn with each deep inhale of cool evening air. He felt the birch trees watching him now and he wanted nothing more than to get out of the forest and never return to it alone. He was thankful that he had not hiked to deep into the forest as he saw the Mystery Shack come into view behind a thin veil of trees.

As his foot made contact with the sun-soaked ground that lay just below the forest, Dipper collapse into a heaving lump on the dirt. 

"Dipper!" The shout was followed by quick footsteps that camouflaged themselves in the heartbeat the pounded in the young boy's ears. "Dipper, are you okay?" The voice belonged to his twin sister and best friend Mabel Pines who now looked at him with concern. 

"I...," through panted and shaken breath Dipper struggled to speak, "I saw...it was... it was Bill. I fell asleep! He was there...ah! one question!"

"Woah, calm down. What happened? You saw Bill?" Mabel asked calmly. She could understand why seeing Bill was defiantly not a good sign but what she could not understand is why his visit warranted such a horrified reaction from her brother. 

"Y-Yes...but this was not like before...he didn't want to make a deal...and well...it was..." Dipper trailed off as he began to calm down and realize what he was about to say my cause him to look weaker than he would like to show.

"It was what?" Mabel pushed

With a sigh Dipper answered, forcing the words out in a defeated voice, "it was scary..."

"Scary? Of course it was. That goes without saying. He's a demon for crying out loud!" Mabel exclaimed, her understanding surprising Dipper momentarily before a pang of guilt tugged at him for not expecting his sister to understanding.

A forced laugh spilled from his lips as decided not to go into detail of his experience. He looked over to Mabel who was now kneeling at his side. "He said...he would answer one question for me. Do you think I can trust him?" he confessed.

"We both know you can't. But...I don't think he can hurt you by answering a question as long as you don't ask him anything big or life changing. Oh! Ask him why he's a jerk! Haha good one, Mabel," she said giving herself a pat on the back.

"He knows everything...I don't want to waste it on something that doesn't matter." 

"So what are you going to ask him?" Mabel questioned, standing back up and holding out a hand to help Dipper to his feet. 

"I don't know...but he said he will give me two days to decide," he responded as they began to move closer to the shack. They moved up the steps in silence until Dipper places his hand on the door and turned his gaze to Mabel. "Keep this between us...please."

"I promise! As long as you promise to run your question by me before you ask it!"

"Okay. I promise."

The evening was uneventful. It was Dipper and Mabel's job to wash and dry the dinner dishes, however, Dipper slinked off immediately after he finished his meal. Respecting the hard day her brother had been through Mabel decided to let her brother have some time to himself as she began to take on the towering stack of dirty dishes on her own. 

She was shaken from her thoughts by her great uncle Stanford who had emerged from his lab to have a late dinner. "You are working alone?" He asked, surprised to see his great niece doing chores by herself.

"Dipper had a bad day so I thought I would do this for him...I mean he had...a–a um..." Mabel hated lying but from the look her uncle was giving her she knew her only way out was to either break her promise or to tell a lie. After some quick moral calculations she decided breaking a promise was much worse than lying so quickly thought up a dishonest excuse. "He...uh accidentally threw a soda at...Wendy...I think...yeah it was Wendy a-and anyway now he is just really embarrassed so he went to bed...," she stammered and forced a smile.

Stanford gave her an unconvinced look as he thought over her explanation; eventually deciding that his nephew clumsily embarrassing himself was not out of the realm of possibility. He dropped the topic with a nod before grabbing a rag and a damp plate from Mabel's hand. He began to dry the dish and set it back in the cabinet, earning a smile from the younger of the two.

"Thanks Grunkle Ford."

Meanwhile Dipper paced on the creaky floor. His gums grew sore as he chewed unrelentingly on the top of his blue pen. Spread out on his bed was a list of questions organized in a complex order that only he could understand. The questions taunted him as he snatched the list from its place on the bed and held it tight in his grip; the paper crumpled in his hands. 

"He did this to mess with me! He isn't apologizing he's playing a game!" He thought out loud as he read over the long list of possible questions. "I just...There must be a question that will make him loose the game. Something he wouldn't want to reveal...But what would he not want me to ask?"

"What's the right question!?" He called out in rage, tightening his grip on the page. In a unwavering moment of anger blue flame began to creep from his wrist to his fingertips. The flame felt cool, like dipping your hand in a rushing stream, a refreshing kind of cool. However it's effects proved the opposite as it reached the list in his hand causing it to turn to ash in moments; not even giving it a chance to touch the floor as Dipper quickly released the list from his grip. 

"Ah! What the-!" He cried out in shock.

"Dipper! Are you alright?" He heard his great uncle's voice call from the kitchen.

"Uh...y-yeah. But Mabel could you come help me with something!" He said as his heartbeat increased in time with his panicked state. The blue flame in his hand wouldn't go out. 

"I-I guess I know w-what I'm going to a-ask him," Was all he could say when the door flung open to reveal his sister who was now watching the dancing blue flame, the light reflecting in her wide eyes.


	2. Internal clock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dw Chapter length will get longer as the story progresses.

Heat flooded from every crack in the old wooden door, slipping though the gaps where the warped would could no longer seal the attic from the rest of the shack. Heat radiated from the doorknob as it taunted Mabel with the burn it was sure to leave if she was to rest her hand on it. Pulling down her sweater sleeve over her hand, She cautiously placed it on the searing metal. She could still feel the warmth through her sweater but a majority of the heat had been smothered by the knitted garment.

The door opened and the only barrier between herself and the heat was broken. The heat rushed out of the room in heavy, overwhelming waves. Standing before her, untouched and seemingly ignorant to the heat, was her brother. Dipper held the dancing blue flame in his hand as it weaved through his fingers and stretched up with desperation but was held back by its owner. It was behaving much like a creature with its own freewill; one that had been tied down with a leash.

"I-I guess I know w-what I'm going to a-ask him," Stammered her twin as his eyes shifted from his sister to the flame. Mabel wiped away the sweat that was building up on her hairline. She shuffled her brain for a response but nothing came. Both her and Dipper had only seen a blue flame like this come from one being and that was Bill. 

"I...is that? Coming...from you?" She hesitated.

"I think so." Dipper said with little confidence as he observed the twisting flame. "I didn't light it...if that's what you are asking."

"How did it start?" She moved closer, carful of how close she got to the flame. Dipper noticed her red face and shimmering forehead. Odd, he wasn't feeling any heat from the flame, however, Mabel clearly was.

"I don't know. It just...it just happened," he tried to explain. Waving his hand slightly as he searched for his words. He quickly ceased the action when he saw Mabel flinch away. "Sorry."

"Well...what were you doing when it happened? And could you put it out?" She questioned as she began moving towards the triangular window, pushing it open and inhaled a deep breath of the cool air that pooled in.

"I was making a list. It was of questions I could ask Bill. And uh...I maybe could pour water over it?" his voice grew higher as he suggested how to extinguish the fire. Mabel did not leave the cool sanctuary of the open window as she watched her brother reach down to grab a half empty bottle of water that had been partially kicked underneath the bed. The plastic began to melt the closer the bottle moved to the flame and its contents began to spill out. Instead of sizzling into the flame the water moved through it without disturbance as the fire moved to dodge the liquid. The water splashed to the floor and began to dry up in the heat of the room.

"Woah...," Mabel said as she watched the scene with wide eyes. She leaned forward to get a closer look at the flame, however, she kept her distance.

"Why didn't that work!?" Dipper said shakily. The flame grew at his exclamation. Mable put a finger over her lips and gestured down stairs, reminding dipper that their uncles were down stairs and they needed to be quiet. 

Her gaze moved back to the fire before she spoke. "You need to try to calm down. I think it may...react with your emotions..."

"Calm down? How do I calm down? Mabel! My hand is on fire!" He spoke in a harsh whisper and the flame danced higher than it had before.

Mabel thought for a moment before pulling away from the window. She walked over to Dipper, wincing at the heat. "Be calm because you won't go through this alone. You have me!" She declared and the smile had finally returned to her face. 

The light dimmed as Dipper exhaled and the heat began to dissipate. While the fire remained and the room was still uncomfortably warm, it was a start. Mabel placed a hand on his shoulder, surprised to find his body was not hot but instead slightly cold. The flame reacted similar to what was expected as it retreated back into the skin of her younger twin.

With a sigh of relief Dipper slumped his shoulders and crumpled down into a pile on the floor. Mabel's new found smile quickly fell back into a frown as she stared at her brother on the floor. "Dipper...are you okay."

"Fire came out of my hand. Blue fire! Fire like Bill's" he said, once again speaking in a harsh whisper. He lay on his side, eyeing his hand suspiciously. "Do you...do you think he's possessing me again?" He squeaked fearfully now.

"No. No he isn't. If he was you would have those weird eyes again." Mabel assured as she kneeled down at her brother's side. 

Dipper did not respond as he continued to stare blankly at his hand. 

"Come on. Let's go to bed and I'm sure we will wake up and see this was all just a really weird one time problem!"

"And if it isn't?"

"Like I said, I'll be here!"

-

"Hey, Pinetree!" Came the piercing call of Bill Cipher as he appeared in the dreamscape. He stared down at Dipper, his eye replaced with a large clock. It ticked with an echoing reverb that shook the young man to his bones. The noise bounced inside of his ears, overpowering his thoughts before it eventually overpowered the rhythm of his heartbeat. 

It felt like hours passed. The towering clock in Bill Cipher's eye looking down at the boy.

Boom!  
"Was that the clock or my heart?"  
Boom!  
"It was my heart...I think"  
Boom!  
"No. That's the clock."  
Boom!  
"Maybe it is both."  
Boom!  
"If the clock starts will my heart stop?"  
Boom!  
"AGH BILL! Cut it out!" Dipper finally screamed. 

The god began to laugh. His laughter shook the dreamscape and the clocks hands began to spin, faster, and faster. It moved with the speed of Dipper's heart. "Have you made up your mind, kid? Just one question. Just one more day to decide!" The clock spun faster and the blood in Dipper's veins pumped faster along with it. He knew what he wanted to ask, but Bill was not giving him a spare breath to speak up. 

"Agh BI...BILL STOP!"

"Sure thing, kid!" And with that the clock stopped suddenly along with the thumping of Dipper's heart.

Shooting up in a cool sweat he woke to find himself in the attic. The room was dark, only illuminated by the cool blue light the poured in through the triangular window. Dipper glared at the shape as he calmed his breathing. A dry, burning throat begged for water prompting him to sling his legs over the bed. He sat silently for some time before he slowly moved his feet to come in contact with the cool wood floor. The floor creaked beneath him as he moved for the door and down the stairs.

Reaching the end of the stairway, Dipper was surprised to find his great uncle Stanford still awake and sitting hunched over the kitchen table, his eyes glued to whatever papers he was scribbling on. He had yet to look up, however, the creaking of the stairs alerted him of his nephews presence. 

"Grunkle Ford, you're awake." Dipper was unsure if he was still dreaming or not as he creeped across the kitchen floor, searching for any oddities. 

"And so are you. Bad dream?" Stanford had looked up now, watching Dipper from his spot at the table.

"How...how did you know?" Dipper eyed his uncle suspiciously now as he reached the table, pressing his hands against the wooden surface. His eyes squinted as he peered at Stanford, trying to read his expression.

The older gentleman's face did not hold any malice, instead his eyes reflected understanding and genuine concern. "I recognize the look...," he began, "there was a time when I had trouble sleeping because of... certain dreams..." 

"But...what if they don't feel like...just nightmares. Like maybe some part of it is real? L-like the thing causing it?" Dipper began to elaborate vaguely.

Ford was silent for a moment, the concerned look on his face growing more prominent. "Was this...," he paused to think over his word choice. "Was this...thing....is it a something of a someone?" 

"Oh well...it was probably nothing. Just-just a very vivid dream," Dipper corrected quickly and turned his gaze away. He began to move to the cupboards to grab a empty glass, however, he could still feel Stanford's eyes on him as he filled his glass with tap water. 

"It may still help to talk about it," Ford pushed.

"It's fine. I promise Grunkle Ford. Goodnight," the younger said quickly. He didn't spare a moment as he placed his glass in the sink and shuffled back to the stairway but he could somehow not shake the feeling that his uncle was not going to drop the topic for long. He worried he had given too much away. It was certain that the scientist knew about Bill Cipher; the journals were proof of that. It would not be hard for him to piece together that it was Bill giving his nephew trouble.


	3. Forest Path

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: small amounts of blood

The soothing static of rain continued as morning came. It had not slowed much since the start of the downpour in the late hours of the day, however, the thunder had silenced itself to a soft rumble. Rain poured down from the gutters that sat just on the other side of the wall. The water echoing against the flimsy metal creating a steady and reliable noise that had helped Dipper get back to sleep that night.

The sky was a deep blue as the glow from the sun fought its way through thick, rain soaked clouds. It was just half past five in the morning now.

Nestled in cool, airy blankets, Dipper slept soundly. His mindscape at ease and his dreams a pleasant blur that would be easily forgotten when he woke. He was thankful for the soothing storm that had been responsible for rocking him back to sleep. But the steady sound of gutter was suddenly interrupted by a loud metal clang and shortly after the piercing sound the water stopped.

Taking in a sharp breath Dipper woke. He had always been a light sleeper and was not supposed that the small disturbance was able to wake him. But then...the fear returned. Not the fear that you get from being startled awake or even the kind of fear you felt when you were young and afraid of the dark. This was the same throat-closing fear he felt in the woods the day before. The white-hot burning fear of a threat staring you down. The fear no one talks about because it can only be felt by those staring down their own mortality. Something was wrong.

He pulled himself to the corner of his bed; his back now guarded by the wall behind him as his vision scanning the entirety of his room. Dipper called out, "Ma...Mabel wake-Wake up."

"Hmmmff...Dipper, it's too early...," Mabel complained and pulled her blanket tighter around her body.

"Please," Dipper squeaked. Mabel was able to hear the panic in his tone now. She pushed her body away from the mattress and looked over to her brother. She quickly scanned the room for anything that could push her brother to this state but found nothing.

She slid her legs over the side of the bed and dipper lurched forward, holding both his hands out, gesturing for her to stop. "Don't. Move. Not yet. Not until it's safe."

"Dipper...it IS safe," Mabel spoke, her tone heavy with concern.

The thunder had stopped now and the rain had slowed to a trickle that tapped lightly on the roof of the shack. The light of the sun had begun to filter through the clouds, bathing the attic in a light blue glow.

"How...would you know if it's safe?"

"Because—" Mabel slid off the bed, her feet making contact with the wood below. She began walking to the bed where Dipper still sat frozen with fear. "—I got over my fear of thunderstorms when I was eight," she laughed weakly.

As she pulled herself onto the bed Dipper let out a small sound of laughter in an attempt to give in to the lighter mood that Mabel was offering. He relaxed his poster, and the pair were silent for some time after that, listening closely to the animals that had begun to slip from their shelters as the rains lowered. Crickets settled on the blades of wet grass and toads croaked from underneath fallen leaves. Dipper steadied his breathing before speaking.

"I think...something is wrong. I just feel it."

"Well..." Mabel gave him an odd look as she tried her response, "what do you think is wrong?"

"I'm not sure. I just feel like...something is not right. I feel afraid but it—this sounds so crazy—but it doesn't feel like it's my fear," he explained.

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Listen, we know something is going on with me. Fire came out of my hand last night, Mabel!" Dipper exclaimed in a harsh whisper, "That doesn't just happen! I know Bill is up to something and this-this feeling weird emotions has to be part of it!" 

Mabel was silent again, deep in thought as she stared down at the floor. She was genuinely worried for her brother and was frustrated that she had no idea of how to help him. "When will you see Bill again?" She asked.

"Within the day. I have until today to ask him a question."

"And what will you ask?"

"I need to ask him what's going on with me....but..."

"But what?" Mabel pressed.

"What if that's part of his plan. I mean he comes to me and offers me the answer to one question and then that night blue fire come out of my hand? That can't be a coincidence," Dipper began to theorize as he pulls himself off the bed. "But what can he gain from this?" He wondered aloud. As his thoughts began moving so did he as he started to pace in his usual route around the attic.

Mabel was silent as her brother rambled to himself, however, she was not listening to what he said as she began to look for her own solution. "If anyone knows how Bill thinks it would be Grunkle Ford. Didn't he write about him in his journal."

"We aren't bringing him into this." Dipper said with a certain finality that caused Mabel to frown in annoyance but abandoned the thought for the time being. Feeling a pang of guilt for snapping at his sister, Dipper moves to sit back down on the bed however he was still fidgety, clearly irritated that he had yet to think of a better option than what Mabel had suggested. "I think I need to go for a walk, wake myself up. I can think clearer that way," he concluded

-

After trading out his blue vest for a navy colored jacket and pulling on a pair of boots, Dipper began along the forest path. The rain had ceased but now heavy droplets rolled off the leaves of the soaked trees, plopping down onto the hood of the young man's coat. Paranoid about falling asleep in the depth of the forest, Dipper packed varies caffeine loaded sodas and protein bars in his backpack. He had not planned to travel far and was likely not going to need the supplies, however, it eased his mind to be prepared. 

As he moved through the trees he kept his head low, and noticed small salamanders and frogs darting beneath the leaves that covered the forest floor. It was not long after watching the amphibians that Dipper began to notice a pattern. in the gaps of leaves he could see the shiny, slick-skin creatures were all headed in the same direction. Following their path, his gaze moved to a thick, green patch of forest.

Evergreens weaved together like an impenetrable wall with a small, rabbit-sized gap in the bottom. This seemed to be the exact spot the amphibians were headed for. Believing that this was all likely another one of Bill's nightmares, Dipper turned away from the scene, refusing to fall into this obvious trap. But as he did so he felt a scratch on his hand. It was not a deep cut and the pain was not excruciating, however, it began to sting where a briar bush had scraped him. dots of blood lined the wound but kept their place and did not roll away. Dipper began to lift his hand closer to his face to observe the the insignificant wound; the buzzing sting it provided was proof enough that he was not dreaming. 

It was as his focused was consumed by the realization that he was in reality that he began to hear a steady tune. The sound was unchanging as it sounded like a single, long key of a piano. It seemed to become progressively louder as Dipper tried to focus on it, but the note remained unchanged. Letting his hand fall back to his side, he turned back towards the evergreen wall that was now swarmed by salamanders and frogs who were climbing over each other as they fought their way inside of the small hole.

The sound continued as he moved forward but as he stood only a foot away from the horde of amphibians the tune began to waver in pitch. The change was subtle, changing from a low tone to a slightly higher one. But as it did so the horde began to disperse. First it was the frogs who hopped to nearby trees and underneath leaves; then the salamanders shimmied away, their long, slick bodies disappearing in the foliage. 

The hole in the wall was unguarded now, and stretched in size as the sound that rang through the forest become unbearably high. But as the moving of the wall stopped the sound lowered itself. The hole stood to Dipper's full height now, inviting him to step through. He could not see what waited on the other side; a winding corridor of bending branches obscuring his view. With a deep inhale, Dipper held onto the straps of his backpack and began to march forward. 

It was not long before he realized that he had been lured into a maze. The walls were lined with twisted branches that climbed high above his head. They twisted and curled at the top, tangling themselves with the branches that made up the opposite wall. Thick vines laced through certain passage ways, hiding them from sight and increasing the difficulty of the maze. Luckily for Dipper, it seemed the sound wanted to help him through the cave as its pitch became higher whenever he made a wrong turn. 

Now thankful for the irritating sound, DIpper stood before a vine covered doorway that was much larger than any he had encountered so far. The sound was at its lowest pitch now, the humming vibrates the ground, delighted that the young man had reached his destination. 

"Now... how do i get passed these," Dipper thought allowed as he stared at the thick vines that blocked the doorway. His question was soon answered as he rested his hand on one of the large, thick vines and it began to crumble under his touch. Quickly pulling his hand back in surprise, he watched as the rest of the vines followed the first until they were nothing but a pile of ash on the forest floor. 

Slowly, Dipper began to move forward. His blood felt light with anxiety and his heart could not settle itself in his chest. He stood on a platform made of tree roots and moss. surrounding him was water; it was as clear as glass and in it he could see to the root coated floor that lay twenty feet below him. across from him was another platform, this one raised slightly higher and its area larger. 

Vines returned to cover the entrance way as the water was darkened by a shadow. A ginormous pink blur came into view as water molded around its surfacing head; the liquid soon rolling down its face as it rested its car-sized head on the platform. An axolotl stared looked down at Dipper. It did not speak at first; instead it looked over the boy who stood frozen with either shock or fear in front of them.

"Mason Pines," its mouth did not move as he spoke as its voice echoed in its convex home. "When did you choose to trust the fiend who goes by the name Bill cipher?"


End file.
